Survival of the Fittest
by Hunter Stag
Summary: A Night Fury in the wild fights against an intruder to keep his territory. Rated T for blood and violence.


Mist shrouded the forest floor and the sound of wildlife was everywhere. A bird landed lightly on a tree branch, shaking dew off of itself and preening its wing feathers. Unfortunately, it did not know that it only had minutes to live. In the bushes, his black, scaly skin all but hidden by the thick foliage, the Night Fury's green eyes were locked onto the bird. His pupils were mere slits, the retractable teeth in his mouth ready to bite.

The bird suddenly looked up. Something didn't feel right to it.

Too late.

The Night Fury shot from the bushes, roaring as the unfortunate bird tried to take flight.

There was a final chirp and a burst of feathers. The Night Fury landed on a nearby rock, chewing the bird happily. It had been a fat one. Very filling.

He took off into the air in search of more food, twirling gracefully through the sky. He closed his eyes and felt the cool wind flow around his body, rippling across his wings in gentle strokes.

He looked down. There were no signs of the hornheads. Good. He dove towards the ocean, closing his wings to gain more speed. Piercing the surface of the water, he opened his mouth and caught a fish, then shot back out, drops of water falling from him as he spread his wings again and flew back toward his forest. Flapping his wings to slow himself, he set down on an isolated cliff that jutted up above the trees. He spread his wings about behind him to dry, taking a sort of gargoyle pose. The Night Fury closed his eyes, breathing deeply. His face felt warm in the light of the sun, about halfway to its peak in the midmorning.

He opened his eyes to see a dark shape coming towards him. Almost immediately after he spotted it a blast of orange shot towards him.

Fire. Danger.

He dove, feeling the heat as the blast of fire shot over him. He pulled out of his dive a short distance above the water and flew up towards his enemy. His mouth opened and a blast of blue-orange fire shot out, slamming into the dragon's shoulder. The enemy roared in pain and then spun, slamming its massive, spiked tail into his face. The Night Fury fell, hitting the water with a huge flume of spray.

His eyes fluttered open as he sank into the deep. A thin trail of red was floating up toward the surface. He flared his nostrils. Blood. He couldn't see out of one eye. He struggled to flap his wings, sending bubbles swirling up around him. He paddled with his legs, frantically attempting to break the surface of the water. Air. He needed to get out. He needed to _breathe._

Finally the sound of waves was in his ears as he broke the surface, gasping for breath. Breathing heavily, he looked up into the air. The dragon that had attacked him was flying off into the distance, towards the forest. _His _forest. _His _territory.

A growl worked its way out of the Night Fury's throat. He quickly went over what he'd seen before he'd been knocked into the water. The dragon had been at least three times as large as he was. Long, sharp claws protruded from its feet and its tail was covered in spikes. The Night Fury could feel the blood trickling from the dragon's tail had hit him in the head. He began swimming towards the shore, eventually building up enough speed to get airborne. Flying off after the intruder, he growled to himself. He wouldn't let this go unpunished. The dragon would pay.

He flew above the forest. The dragon would probably follow his scent to go back to his territory. He'd wait until nightfall to attack.

He occupied himself by eating more and then planting his face in a muddy pond to stop the bleeding, then sat there until the sun went down. Finally, the moon was the only thing in the sky. He shot upwards, flying back towards his den. He could hear thrashing and smelled smoke. The other dragon had been busy.

The Night Fury gained altitude, wanting to be able to put his speed to his advantage. As soon as he was high enough, he dove suddenly. His wings shredded the air, producing the high-pitched shrieking noise that his species was known for. He heard a challenging roar before he spat a fireball. Another roar followed the explosion, and trees were knocked over as the dragon took to the air.

As it did, the Night Fury swung around again. Blasting the dragon with another fireball, he then slammed into its face, then looped around and repeated the process, only without the fireball. The dragon's skull was hard and every roar it made hurt the Night Fury's ears, but he was wearing it down. Every impact wore the dragon down more and more until one of its claws swiped at him as he flew straight at it. The Night Fury was going too fast to dodge, so the claw smashed into his chin, throwing him upwards. He then fell, landing on his side on the ground.

The dragon landed a short distance away from him. The Night Fury shakily stood, then fired another blast. The dragon roared again as the fireball hit it, and the Night Fury took off again, flying full speed as he slammed into the dragon's gut. There was a loud "_Gwa-hack!"_ noise as the dragon coughed up a large amount of saliva before falling onto its back. The Night Fury walked along its chest and stopped at the dragon's face, opening his mouth to prepare a fireball.

The dragon gave one last roar of defiance before a loud _boom_ silenced it forever.

Breathing heavily, the Night Fury gave a small smile. He climbed down from the carcass of his defeated enemy, stumbling as he hit the ground. His eyelids fluttering, he managed a few more steps before collapsing. He was tired. He could feel the wound that had sliced open his jaw. It wasn't lethal; he would live. The Night Fury slept as the moon rose above him. He had his territory back. All was right with the world.

**Just so you guys know, I plan to make this the prequel to a story I plan on writing soon. Thanks for reading! R and R!**


End file.
